One of those ‘moments’ this
time involved a little Philipino woman named Marta, who I
had seen at Jane’s show last year. Marta had returned
this year, presumably to add to her growing “Jane’ collection
and to claim a painting she had ordered earlier.
I watched
in amusement as Jane who had been several feet away when
Marta entered the booth suddenly came running over to hug
her crying “You’ve got my BABY!” Those
of us standing there were at first startled then intrigued
by this unusual outburst until it became clear that the “baby’ Jane
was alluding to was her favorite painting, which Marta had
just bought! Marta explained to Jane that one of the paintings
she had bought the year before had been a gift for a friend.
This lady had wanted to accompany her to the show but circumstances
had prevented her coming. I had stepped back a bit so as
not to appear intrusive so I don’t know whose idea
it was but moments later I watched as Marta dialed her friend’s
number excitedly then handed the cell phone to Jane. (Jane
had apparently agreed to “meet’ Marta’s
friend on the phone) From the look of delight on Marta’s
face, this generous gesture meant a great deal to her, I’ve
no doubt it did to her friend as well!
Comments from passersby also provided a constant source
of amusement- from the gentleman who seemed to be giving
a ‘blow by blow’ description of Jane to a companion
over his cell phone (Yes, she’s here, yea she’s
gorgeous!) to one woman who was having a terrible time
trying to convince her husband that really WAS Jane Seymour
over there! (I’m telling you it’s HER!”)
One surprisingly sad observation I made though during
the weekend was that most of the younger children accompanied
by their parents didn’t seem to recognize Jane from
Dr. Quinn. I waited in vain for the familiar cry of “Look-
Dr. Mike” until it finally dawned on me that these
children belonged to a younger generation who had never
met “Michaela Quinn” (except perhaps in reruns)
This point was driven home vividly when I spoke with one
woman whose 12 year old daughter just looked at me blankly
when I asked her if she knew who Dr. Quinn was. If she
didn’t know Jane as Michaela, I was sure she wouldn’t
know her from Somewhere in Time so I tried a different
tack- “Do you watch Smallville?” I asked the
girl. Immediately her eyes lit up. Success! “Well
do you know Genevieve?” Again the girl nodded. “Well
that’s HER I said pointing to Jane! “REALLY?” she
exclaimed. THAT impressed her! I shook my head at her mother
and the two of us shared a bittersweet laugh. How sad!
(thanks CBS!)
Between chatting with Jane, Tom and Susan and ‘people
watching” Saturday flew by. I left shortly before
Jane did to head out to dinner with some friends promising
to return the next day. (wether or not Jane and the others
considered that a threat or a promise was a matter of interpretation!)
Sunday, before reappearing at Jane's booth I set out to
explore some of the other exhibitions (something I hadn’t
bothered to do in previous years) at the expo. While certainly,
many of the other artist’s works were impressive,
I found they also seemed somewhat overpowering. I decided
that I preferred the subtle quality of Jane’s art
to these more dramatic pieces. By the steady flow
of patrons to Jane’s booth throughout the rest of
the day, it seemed a lot of people shared my opinion. Of
course, for many, Jane herself, was a huge draw in addition
to her art. Watching the reactions of those gathered around
Jane’s
booth, I was reminded of the scene in Dr. Quinn where Colleen
is lamenting Alice’s (a peer) popularity and wonders
what Alice has that Colleen doesn’t. Mike replies, "Some
people seem to have—it’s like a kind of perfume,
that makes everyone want to be around them.” If anyone
has that ‘perfume’ it’s Jane Seymour.
By the end of the second day, I couldn't help
but marvel at Jane's patience. No sooner would she sit
for a moment to sneak a bite of salad then someone else
would approach eager to have a photo with her. Graciously,
she would nod her assent and rise from her chair but
my heart went out to her as I could see the exhaustion
in her eyes. Although she had been scheduled to leave at
2 PM, she had decided to stay until 3:30 to accommodate
all those who were still clamoring for a photo or to inquire
about her paintings.
Around 3:15 as Susan was helping Jane gather her things,
I decide to head out in order to make my
4 :30 bus. I thanked Jane's team for being so welcoming
and walked over to say my goodbyes to Jane. She
thanked me for coming and for my help during the show (I
had taken some photos for her of buyers who had forgotten
their cameras and wanted their picture with her) "You
stood a long time she remarked, as she hugged me goodbye.
(she had been standing for 4 days straight and was concerned
about me?) I assured her the weekend had been well spent.
And it had, in fact I was already making plans for next
year!
